


honey, there’s no right way

by toastedricecakes



Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Smut, after the oak room, and therese is a little small 4 them, at madison ave, but it’s chill, my interpretation lol, sharing clothes!!!, they kind of talk it out but idk they just fuck, very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 14:29:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20472563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toastedricecakes/pseuds/toastedricecakes
Summary: “i think i should call a cab.”“and i think it’s too late for that.”





	honey, there’s no right way

after the sufficiently saddening tea, and the major high of walking into the oak room and seeing her, therese now stood in the hallway, alone, as carol said her goodbyes. it had only been a few minutes, but it felt like days. she looked down at her heels, and saw she had a chip in the left one. she rubbed her toe into the carpet.

out on the street, she walked in step with carol, side by side, and a cold breeze blew, loosening the pins she had in her hair. they had spoken to each other, but only a quick comment on how the weather was getting warmer, and then, a sound of agreement. they turned onto a quieter street, and the sound of their footsteps became deafening.

“where are we going?” therese finally asked, looking up and to her right to see carol’s face.

“i don’t know. do you mind walking?” carol turned to look at her.

“no.”

and they walked on. past closing shops and then apartments, and then more stores and buildings, all the while in silence. but together.

eventually, carol stopped walking without a word. therese stopped and turned around.

“i’m tired of walking,” carol said, and signaled a passing taxi. it started to slow.

“let’s go back to my apartment, i have some tea i can make.”

“okay.”

and when carol got in the taxi and leaned forward to give her address to the driver, therese smiled.

-

the apartment building was magnificent. grand chandeliers in the lobby and soft carpet under their feet. but when carol opened the door to her apartment, it was surprisingly... bare.

one single coffee pot was set on the counter, a lamp was set on the floor next to a couch that was up against a wall, and two mattresses, stacked on top of one another, were on the floor, on the wall opposite to the couch. delicate curtains fell over a large balcony window where moonlight was filtering in. therese was taken aback, but she didn’t know why.

“you’ll have to forgive me,” carol said with a breath of a laugh, “i’m painting my room so i’m sleeping out here. and,” she took of her coat and laid it on the counter, “i’m not very good at unpacking.”

carol motioned to a stack of boxes the were pushed under the kitchen counter that pultruded out, and therese laughed. a real laugh.

-

two empty teacups sat on the floor, and two giggling women sat on the couch.

they had talked about everything except the blatantly obvious: therese was in carol’s apartment, and they were alone. now they were a little tired and a little touchy, but not too much to have anything said about it.

therese checked her watch. 1:27 am.

“oh god! it’s so late!” therese said, opening her eyes wide and smiling. carol’s laugh filled her ears, and therese smiled wider.

“i think should call a cab.”

“and i think it’s too late for that,” carol said, standing. “you can stay here, i’ll drive you home in the morning.”

“but i don’t have anything to sleep in.”

“i must have something you can wear!” carol smiled.

“where will i sleep?”

“you ask a lot of questions miss belivet. if you really don’t want to stay, you don’t have to. but i’d rather drive you then you take a cab.”

therese got up too. “i’ll stay.”

carol almost looked suprised. “okay.” she started to walk towards the bathroom. “stay there, i’ll be right back.”

and again therese stood alone, waiting for carol.

-

carol had come back with a white nightgown, and when therese went to put it on it had been to big for her, but she didn’t complain. she liked it because it was carol’s. coming back out of the bathroom she had found carol in the nightgown she remembered. carol was getting blankets out of a box. she looked up at therese.

“you can sleep on the bed. i’ll sleep here,” she said, flinging the blankets onto the couch.

“are you sure? because i don’t mind-“

“i’m sure,” carol had a reassuring smile on her face.

“okay,” and therese climbed into the bed,  
pulling the covers up to her chest. carol fluffed the blankets out, ajusted her pillow, and then did the same. therese could barely see her, but she could tell that carol didn’t even fit on the couch, her knees hanging off the side, and her head almost propped up on the armrest. it made therese upset, but she turned over and forced it from her mind.

-

therese was still awake. she couldn’t tell what time it was, and if hours had passed or only minutes. maybe she would be stuck like this forever, in carol’s bed, without carol. it was completely silent in the room besides their breathing and the occasional car horn that could be heard in the distance.

the blankets smelled like her. the room felt like her. the soft, almost faint breathing from across the room sounded like her.

it was torment. and even though therese has tried her best to deny her lingering feelings for carol since she sat down at the ritz tower, they were slowly creeping back into her mind with every ticking second. carol, being only a dozen feet from her, felt miles away.

therese turned onto her back and watched the shadows of the drapes on the ceiling. she raised up only so much so that she could see carol. it was light enough for therese to see her figure, but she couldn’t tell is carol was asleep. was she awake too? or was she asleep, dreaming of anything other than therese?

“carol?” therese said, softly enough to not wake carol if she were asleep, but loud enough for her to hear if she were awake.

she heard covers turn on the other side of the room.

“yes, darling?”

therese sat up. her blanket-covered knees pressed against her chest, and her hands came to rest in front of her, on top of her feet.

“come to bed.”

it was quiet for a moment, and therese for a second thought that she had hallucinated carol’s voice. but then she heard movement, and saw carol’s dark figure stand up, and heard her own heart beating so fiercely in her chest. she felt her arms come up to hover in the air, half outstretched, empty. and then carol filled them.

therese felt carol’s firm hand on her back, and felt herself being lowered back onto the bed. she pushed the blanket off of herself, and it was replaced by carol’s warm body, carol’s legs on either side of her, and carol’s hand gently holding her upper neck. and then she felt carol’s lips surrounding her own, warm and welcoming. it felt like the first time again, but that was always what it felt like to kiss carol.

their kisses were deep and unrushed, both of them soaking in the opportunity to hold each other after months of being apart.

therese ran her hands under carol’s nightgown and then over her back, relishing in the soft skin she found there. carol’s hands were everywhere, in her hair, on her hips, her shoulders, her cheek, her neck, and their bodies moved together in a rhythm that therese couldn’t describe but knew by heart.

they started to pick up their pace, carol’s tongue sweeping therese’s lips and then dipping between them, therese moaning into carol’s mouth. carol’s right hand slowly ran up and down her thigh, and it made therese’s blood run straight to her stomach.

carol had her hand on therese’s back, and she held their chests flush together. therese could feel sweat starting to form between her breasts. she raised up so that she was straddling therese’s hips.

“raise up, sweetheart,” she said, and therese did.

carol’s hands went to the bottom of therese’s nightgown and pulled it over her head, reached behind her and uncliped her bra, then tossed them both on the floor. therese laid back down, her bare back touching the covers, and looked above her to see carol undressing herself before lowering back down to touch their lips together again.

carol’s hand trailed from therese’s waist to her hip to her thigh and then between her legs, where carol hooked a finger around her underwear and pulled it off, letting it join their other clothes on the floor.

carol stopped kissing therese just enough to look at her, to make sure that she was okay, and therese was struck by the way carol’s hair, her face, her eyes, all glowed in the moonlight. carol’s hand started to move between therese’s legs and carol kissed her once, and then looked at her again. therese could feel the blush on her cheeks but knew it was too dark for carol to see it. they kissed again.

as carol moved, therese had to break away from her to breath, and she felt as though she was being suffocated by carol’s touch. then carol’s fingers slipped inside her, and therese gripped her arm and took in a sharp breath.

carol looked down at her. “are you okay?”

therese nodded and squirmed a little underneath her, trying to fix the uncomfortable angle at which she was laying.

carol’s hand moved slowly. “does it hurt?”

“no,” therese breathed, and she was telling the truth. it didn’t hurt, but she had never experienced something like this before. her nails dug into carol’s arm.

a thin sheet of sweat covered their bodies as they moved against each other, therese feeling her nails scratch at carol’s back, searching for a tether. carol’s fingers curled inside of her, and therese let out a moan, to which carol returned with a bite to her neck, soothing it with her tongue.

tension was building inside her, her hips rising off the mattress every so often. fingers wove themselves into carol’s hair, pulling it so that carol’s lips were off of her’s and onto her neck. carol moaned into her skin.

carol started to move faster, placing her leg between therese’s to give herself more force, and therese’s breath grew sharp.

carol was flooding her senses. she felt carol’s left hand come up to brush her hair away from her face, carol’s hair over her eyes and lips, carol’s cheek pressed against her’s, carol’s arm placed under her shoulders so that she was holding her. and then everything came crashing into her at once, and suddenly she was shaking, her head raising off the pillow and her forehead pressing into carol’s shoulder, her arms gripping carol’s back. carol still held her as she slowed and her breathing became normal again.

-

they lay in each other’s arms long after the sun came up and warmed their bodies. the night had been full of new explorations, to both therese’s body and carol’s, and therese had to stop herself from thinking about it, knowing carol would notice her blush.

carol’s hand ran up and down therese’s back. therese filled her lungs with air and then let it out, perfectly content. carol kissed the top of her head. this morning was different from the others they had spent together because they were alone, they were home, and they were happy.

“i love you,” therese said, and she felt tears in her eyes, surprising even herself.

carol was quiet.

“i love you,” therese said again, thinking carol didn’t hear her.

“i heard you,” carol said. “ i just wanted to hear you say it again.”

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading lol i’ve has this story stuck in my head for months and it’s good to finally have it written down


End file.
